19-Day Sahara Crossing: Marrakech to Nouakchott via Laayoune

About this tour

Small-group expedition (max 16) departing Marrakech on 9 November 2026. Same route as the Dakar trip as far as Mauritania: High Atlas, Erg Chigaga, Draa estuary, Naila lagoon and Tarfaya, a three-day nomad-guided crossing of the Western Sahara from Laayoune, Dakhla, then Chinguetti, Ouadane and Terjit before ending in Nouakchott.

Highlights

• 3-day off-road crossing from Laayoune with a nomad guide
• Naila lagoon by boat
• Erg Chigaga dunes
• Dakhla's Rio de Oro
• Chinguetti manuscripts
• Terjit oasis

Itinerary

1. Day 1 - Marrakech

   Arrive independently; airport taxi not included.

2. Day 2 - High Atlas

   Off-road to Berber villages and gem diggers, over Tizi n'Tichka to Aït Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate.

3. Day 3 - Draa Valley & rock art

   Palm groves and ancient engravings, lunch in Zagora, on to M'Hamid.

4. Day 4 - Dunes, fossils & addax

   4x4 across Erg Chigaga, fossil hunting on Lake Iriqui, night in Foum Zguid.

5. Day 5 - Oasis trail

   Mountains and large oases, with a walk through one.

6. Day 6 - Caravan towns

   Assa's stone village and Guelmim's caravan past; night at Ksar Tafnidilt.

7. Day 7 - Estuaries & desert

   Dunes to the Draa estuary, fishing camps, colonial ruins, a low-tide beach drive.

8. Day 8 - Dunes & lagoons

   Coast road to the Naila lagoon by fishing boat, then Tarfaya and its airmail museum.

9. Day 9 - The Forbidden Track – Laayoune

   Meet a Sahrawi nomad guide in Laayoune and start a 3-day off-road crossing; camp under the stars.

10. Day 10 - The Forbidden Track

    Big dunes and caravan wells of the Reguibat nomads; second desert camp.

11. Day 11 - Desert to ocean

    Last dunes and nomad camps, then out to the Atlantic coast.

12. Day 12 - Rio de Oro – Dakhla

    Dakhla peninsula and the tidal Rio de Oro inlet, fishing harbour, oyster-farm lunch.

13. Day 13 - To Mauritania

    Coastal cliffs past the Tropic of Cancer, border crossing at Guerguerat.

14. Day 14 - Adrar dunes

    Off-track from Akjoujt with GPS and compass, Stone-Age tools, nomad camps.

15. Day 15 - Adrar mountains

    Valleys, adobe villages and oases to Chinguetti.

16. Day 16 - Chinguetti

    13th-century stone town, manuscript libraries, palm gardens.

17. Day 17 - Ouadane

    Along a dry riverbed to the 12th-century oasis and Portuguese fort ruins.

18. Day 18 - Green oasis

    Fort Saganne ruins, Agrour rock art, Atar market and the Terjit spring oasis.

19. Day 19 - Nouakchott

    National Museum, West African lunch, fishing harbour, airport transfer.